The Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, “has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works”.

The prize is named after Sir John Templeton (1912–2008), an American-born British entrepreneur and businessman, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1987 for his philanthropic efforts. Until 2001, the name of the prize was “Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion”, and from 2002 to 2008 it was called the “Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities”. It has typically been presented byPrince Philip in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

The Templeton Prize is an annual award presented by the Templeton Foundation. Established in 1972, it is awarded to a living person who, in the estimation of the judges, “has made an exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, whether through insight, discovery, or practical works”.  

Year Laureate Notes
1973 Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Founder, Missionaries of Charity; 1979 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
1974 Fr¨re Roger Founder, Taiz© Community
1975 Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Former President of India, advocate of non-aggression with Pakistan
1976 Leo Josef Cardinal Suenens Pioneer in the Charismatic Renewal movement
1977 Chiara Lubich Founder, Focolare Movement
1978 The Very Rev. Thomas Torrance Former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
1979 Nikky Niwano Cofounder, Rissh Ksei Kai
1980 Ralph Wendell Burhoe Founder, Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science
1981 Dame Cicely Saunders Founder, hospice and palliative care movement
1982 The Rev. Billy Graham Evangelist
1983 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Soviet dissident novelist; Nobel laureate
1984 The Rev. Michael Bourdeaux Founder, Keston Institute
1985 Sir Alister Hardy Founder, Religious Experience Research Centre
1986 The Rev. James I. McCord Former president, Princeton Theological Seminary
1987 The Rev. Stanley Jaki Benedictine priest; professor of astrophysics, Seton Hall University
1988 Inamullah Khan Former secretary-general, Modern World Muslim Congress
1989 Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizs¤cker Physicist and philosopher
1989 The Very Rev. and Rt. Hon. The Lord MacLeod of Fuinary Founder, Iona Community
1990 Baba Amte Developer of modern communities for people suffering from leprosy
1990 Charles Birch Emeritus professor, University of Sydney
1991 Rabbi The Rt. Hon. The Lord Jakobovits Former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth
1992 The Rev. Kyung-Chik Han Evangelist and founder, Young Nak Presbyterian Church
1993 Charles Colson Founder, Prison Fellowship
1994 Michael Novak Philosopher and diplomat
1995 Paul Davies Theoretical physicist
1996 Bill Bright Founder, Campus Crusade for Christ
1997 Pandurang Shastri Athavale Social reformer; philosopher; and founder, Swadhyay Movement
1998 Sir Sigmund Sternberg Philanthropist; founder, Three Faith Forum
1999 Ian Barbour Professor emeritus of science, technology and society, Carleton College
2000 Freeman Dyson Professor emeritus, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
2001 The Rev. Canon Arthur Peacocke Former dean, Clare College, Cambridge
2002 The Rev. John Polkinghorne Physicist and theologian
2003 The Rev. Holmes Rolston III Philosopher
2004 George F. R. Ellis Cosmologist and philosopher
2005 Charles Hard Townes Nobel laureate and physicist
2006 John D. Barrow Cosmologist and theoretical physicist
2007 Charles Margrave Taylor Philosopher
2008 The Rev. Micha‚ Heller Physicist and philosopher
2009 Bernard d’Espagnat Physicist
2010 Francisco J. Ayala Biologist
2011 The Rt. Hon. The Lord Rees of Ludlow Cosmologist and astrophysicist
2012 His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate
2013 The Most Rev. Desmond Tutu Nobel laureate, social rights activist and retired Anglican archbishop